You will be shocked by the facts connecting our habit on social media sites and our hygiene.

Think social media is just a fun way to keep in touch with old friends and make new connections? Think again!

The infographic below, by Arjan de Raaf for Inforgraphics Lists, shows us a hard number comparison of social media sites vs. our hygiene.

Over the last decade, with the spike in global access to computers and mobile phones, coupled with the desire to create connections around the world, it’s hard to deny social networking is taking a top priority in many lives.

Okay, so we can observe and conclude this relatively easily, but the shocking infographic below shines a new spotlight on the social media craze: We are spending a lot more time hunched over social media sites than we are on keeping our bodies clean.

For example, in a single lifetime, the average person will spend thirty-eight and a half days brushing their teeth but two hundred and sixty six days on Facebook. Or, the fact that more America’s have at least one social media account rather than floss on a daily basis!

Sure, it’s fun to like, search, share, follow, tweet and comment — but let’s remind ourselves there is a lot more around us than the virtual reality. The concrete physical reality is irreplaceable, like a real smile or eye contact, there is no substitute.

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image: Infographic List

The post Turn Off Social Media Sites and Go Take a Shower [Infographic] appeared first on EcoSalon.

New research about effective hand washing proves that most of us have been doing it wrong–and it’s costing us millions.

What’s your hand washing technique? Here’s what I do:

1. Crank on the hot water tap
2. Wait a few seconds while it warms up
3. Stick a finger in and realize it’s now too hot
4. Open the cold water tap until it’s warm but not too warm
5. Pump soap into my palms
6. Lather, then rinse, then dry

You were probably doing something similar, and thus taught your kids to do the same. The idea is that the combination of hot water and soap during hand washing kills germs so that we don’t get sick or spread disease to others.

According to Amanda R. Carrico, a research assistant professor at the Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment in Tennessee, however, it’s just an old wives tale. There’s no scientific proof that hands washed in hot water get any cleaner than those washed in cold water. Meanwhile, our obsession with warm tap water is wasting a ton of energy.

Carrico told National Geographic’s Brian Clark Howard that “after a review of the scientific literature, her team found ‘no evidence that using hot water that a person could stand would have any benefit in killing bacteria.'” What they did find was that the billions of hot water hand washing episodes performed each year are taking a significant toll on the environment (and we’re not just talking about wasted water).

Heating water for hand washing results in 6 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions annually, which, according to Nat Geo, is “roughly equal to the emissions of two coal-fired power plants, or 1,250,000 passenger vehicles, over the course of a year.”

Yikes.

According to the CDC and other health authorities, effective hand washing depends less on the temperature of the water and more on your soaping technique, as well as how long you lather. So in the New Year, I’ll only be reaching for the cold water tap, and training myself to sing through “Happy Birthday” twice before I rinse. Quietly, of course.

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Was it really that bad? You be the judge. As one commenter wrote, “And these same filth mongers wonder why disease’s are so abundant, you that dang important or special you can’t take three to five minutes to scrub your…” Others used the forum to discuss their own bathing habits, ranging from showering twice a day, to every other day, to lathering up with baby wipes after a strong run. Opinions and tempers ran high. It seems that people take their bathing habits with a defense that might have rivaled what the Japanese threw down at Iwo Jima.

Why? Well, because bathing is personal. People take it as a sign of class, culture, and identity. But as the NY Times pointed out, letting go of a daily shower is no longer for just people who like to chain themselves to trees. So as a shout out for the people who live among, who drive a Prius or a Hummer – here are five practical reasons not to wash daily.

1. You will strip your skin of natural oils.

Dry skin is sometimes caused when your skin’s natural oils are stripped off it like a bad wallpaper. Your skin naturally lubricates itself with natural oil. Yes, you still want to wash your body. But washing it too much could cause problems. Dr. Richard Gallo is chief of the dermatology division at the University of California, San Diego. As he told the NY Times, over-washing can cause eczema flare ups. According to Dr. Gallo, “It’s not just removing the lipids and oils on your skin that’s drying it out,” he said. It could also be “removing some of the good bacteria that help maintain a healthy balance of skin.”

2. Dry shampoo is awesome.

So maybe you’re too busy for a daily shower. Or you want a quick rinse but not the time investment of washing your hair. Dry shampoo has been used for centuries – essentially, it’s a fine powder or corn meal that can grab dirt and excess oil from your hair. Comb it through and you’re clean. Read our review of a great dry shampoo here.

3. Most of us can live a productive, fulfilling life without antiperspirants.

Antiperspirants are tricky because they contain aluminum chloride and aluminum chlorohydrate to stop you from sweating. Some worry that this is unnatural and worse, could cause cancer. While the NY Times points out that the National Cancer Institute and the Alzheimer’s Association don’t share those concerns, some are just reluctant to stop their bodies from doing what it’s designed to do – sweat.

4. Some natural deodorants really do work.

If you use a natural deodorant, odds are that you’re going to sweat a little. But consider taking a day or two without it. See how much you really sweat. You might be surprised. Recently, a friend gave anti-perspirant the heave-ho. As she wrote to me, “maybe I’m just more mellow lately, but I’m really not sweating all that much.” We’ve already covered natural and/or organic deodorants – if you’re interested in giving natural deodorant a go, try the sprays first.

5. You can conserve water.

Okay, so yes, this is a green reason to step away from the daily shower. But is that so terrible? As the EPA reports, a full bath tub requires about 70 gallons of water, while taking a five-minute shower uses 10 to 25 gallons.” So if you’re able to sponge bath just once a week, you’re saving quite a bit of water.

Image: eelke dekker

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